


i said i'm geeked and i'm fired up

by im_on_craic



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Restaurant, F/M, LOTS OF MARICAT, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, adrien is lovesick, alya likes to meddle whats new, chloe is nicer bc i luv chloe, less ladrien lmao srry, mari gets a fuckin job atta girl, marinette is wild, nino is very wise, s i n, sin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 16:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11108193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_on_craic/pseuds/im_on_craic
Summary: "I think I'm having a midlife crisis," Adrien says, eyes wide, as food flies over the counter and lands squarely over his shoulder.Marinette sighs, wiping a big ole' slop of chili sauce off her elbow, "are you saying you'll die at thirty-four, because a mid-life crisis usually happens, y'know, in the middle of your life, Adrien."-Marinette's halfway through lycée, when she realizes she hasn't done much in her teenage years--y'know, besides fighting magical super villains.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title is from kendrick lamar  
> also sorry if they're way of speaking is way out of whack, lmao ya girl grew up in the west side of chicago, letting that slang go is hard asf man

Marinette loves bakery delicacies. 

 

She loves the warm feeling of freshly baked bread in her mouth, and the subtle moist feeling it gives off. She loves the soft crunch of toasted bread, with all its chocolatey goodness spread on top. She adores the contrast of the ice cream lava cake; the hot, hot fudge tamed by the chilling gooey ice cream. She's over the moon for the tarts, no matter what type of filling. Don't even get her started on the cupcakes; Marinette can talk about her parents' cupcakes for hours on end. 

 

She enjoys them to the point she makes her own delicacies, filling the crave for a sweet that might not even exist in their bakery, like jell-o cupcakes. She's the guinea pig her parents never asked for, the harshest but sweetest critique in France, and one of the top bakers in Paris, only following her parents. Marinette loves sweets, more than anything in the world--besides Adrien, maybe--and would probably profess her love for them on the top of the Eiffel Tower. 

 

Which is why Alya is confused at her best friend's sudden need to work at a dine-in restaurant. 

 

"Why, exactly, are you gonna work there?" She asks for the third time in under five minutes. Marinette beams, ready to launch into her overplayed spiel, but Alya stops her, "besides the fact you want work experience?"

 

Marinette furrows her brows, but her eyes don't lose the bright shine they'd gained when she first pitched her idea to Alya. "I just thought I should get out more, y'know?" She glances at Alya, as if asking her to agree. Alya raises her eyebrows. Marinette sighs. "I just feel like I focus too much on certain things, Alya," she adds, "we're in our second year at lycée, and all I've done is make clothes and think about Adrien."

 

She glances across the school courtyard, where the aforementioned blonde angel sits. He's watching Nino do yet another stupid dare, and Alya has to sigh and remind herself that is, indeed, her boyfriend. Nino finishes whatever dare Adrien had asked of him, which apparently included dipping his finger into pigeon gunk, and, much to Alya's amusement, breaks into a snorty laugh. 

 

It's truly cringe-worthy, and she turns to Marinette, only to find her lovestruck at his snorty laugh. 

 

If this is what her best friend's life has come to--watching boys snort with laughter--maybe this change of pace will be good for Marinette. 


	2. chapter 1: purrsuasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise appearance of Nino and Adrien completely sidetracks Alya's plans to refine Marinette's persuasion skills.

Marinette calls it her gift. 

 

Her ability, her _power_ , if you will. A power she has outside of the Ladybug suit, and will probably continue to have for the rest of her life. It was something she received and discovered at a young age, when she was but a wee child and was still learning about the world. It had been almost insanely significant to her then, but had faded during her time in collége. However, her power had reemerged, full force, when she had entered lycée.

 

Her gift was, in short terms, _persuasion_.

 

 She didn't know what it was, or how she developed it, but it was just so easy for Marinette to persuade those around her. But it wasn't as if she deliberately went around persuading people to do her bidding, no, Marinette could never. She just helped where she could. Like in their first year at lycée, when Alya spent the better half of the first semester encouraging Juleka to confess to Rose. It had taken one mention, and a solid reason for Juleka to finally give in and admit her feelings. Rose, of course, had been ecstatic and so touched. On a low-key, Marinette credited herself with the blossoming of their relationship. 

 

People just listened to Marinette. 

 

And if the key to a job interview (according to Nino) was hyping yourself up to your potential boss, Marinette had no qualms using her gift to snag a job. 

 

-

 

 

Marinette stares at the furry 'stache on Alya's lip. It's a furry black thing that doesn't match her brown hair, but still sits proudly on her best friend's upper lip. "What's that?" She asks, gesturing in the general direction of Alya's lower face. 

 

Alya blinks, reaching up to her face. She completely bypasses the woolly coat resting on her lip, instead tapping her new nose ring with a dainty finger. "This?" She questions, almost too innocently, followed by a dramatic roll of her eyes, and, then, a look of disappointment. "Really, Marinette, I would think you would recognize the nose ring you gave me on our friendaversary."

 

Marinette slaps an open palm to her forehead. "Alya, what the hell," she breathes, counting to ten in her head. There's a flutter against her thigh, and Marinette recognizes it as Tikki warning her about holding back from any un-Ladybug-like actions. Marinette vaguely recalls the breathing lessons they'd practiced, breathing in and out, before focusing her attention back on Alya and her mustache. 

 

"Is there any reason you're wearing a--may I add, mismatched--mustache?" 

 

Suddenly, Alya slaps her hands down on the cafeteria lunch table, looking at Marinette with wild eyes. "I'm glad you asked!" Marinette jolts back at her announcement, clutching a hand to her chest. Alya leans back into her seat, clearing her throat while adjusting an invisible tie around her neck. "I'm here to help you practice your job interview."

 

Marinette stares. 

 

Her unamused and unchanging expression eventually breaks Alya and the aura of confidence she had put up, until she drops her smile, narrowing Marinette with her own unamused glare. "Hey," she barks, "I'm trying to help you here, sweetie." Marinette scoffs, and they launch into a friendly argument, which is abruptly stopped by the appearance of Adrien and Nino behind Alya. 

 

"Hey," Adrien beams, and Marinette momentarily freezes. Nino gives his cool guy salute, sliding next to Alya like it's the most natural thing in the world. He bumps her shoulder, causing Alya to swing her head to look directly at him. Nino yelps at the sight of the mustache, nearly falling off the bench. Marinette cackles an ugly laugh, that is only stopped when Adrien, who had taken the time to slide in beside her, accidentally nudges her with his own body-shaking laughter. 

 

"Jesus, what the hell?" Nino exhales, eyes still wide in fear. Alya grins, which goes unnoticed under her big furry friend. "Babe," Nino says slowly, reaching over to try and tug the mustache off his girlfriend's lip, " _no_." He says it so gently, one would assume he was scolding a naughty kitty. (Prior knowledge informs Marinette that a gentle no is, in most cases, not going to do much when dealing with misbehaved kittens.)

 

Alya's neck snaps back so fast, Marinette fears for her life. "Not so fast," Alya yelps, clutching protectively to her huge ass whiskers, "this is important."

 

"What?" Nino yells exasperatedly, leveling her with the most incredulous look Marinette has ever seen on his features. "What's so important that you need to look like dark-haired version of WWE Wrestler Hulk Hogan?!" He lunges forward for the mustache again, much to Alya's dismay. A scuffle ensues, in which they get uncomfortably close for Marinette and Adrien to keep watching. 

 

"Hey," Adrien says again, softer than when the boys had first arrived, "you okay?" 

 

Marinette's heart swells, and she has to remind herself that they're not dorky thirteen year-olds anymore, they're seventeen now. Whats more, they're friends. Friends definitely don't stumble over their words. "I-I'm good," she replies, picturing a big, red stamp with the words FAILURE being stamped across her forehead. "And you?" She adds, counting this as a half victory; no stuttering, but her voice did subtly crack. 

 

Adrien breathes out, giving her another one of those sweet smiles. "Eh, y'know," he shrugs, "works been crazy lately." Marinette nods, encouraging him to elaborate. "We have a trip scheduled to go to Italy next weekend," he mentions, turning his body more to face her. _Yes_ , Marinette thinks, _an open body position means he is invested in this conversation._ "But after that, my father's actually given me a few weeks off." He emits rays of pure teenage boy excitement at the prospect of having time off of work. 

 

He gives a sideways glance to where Alya and Nino continue to brawl, although more half-heartedly than before. "Are you sure you're okay, Mari?" He asks, blessing her with wide puppy eyes of worry. 

 

Marinette, too, glances at Alya in all her hairy glory. She sighs. "Well," she starts, nervously fidgeting with her fingers on the tabletop, "I'm actually applying for a job."

 

Adrien blinks, his big eyes slowly filling with astonishment, before exclaiming, "really?!" Marinette nods, suddenly shy, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Where?" He asks next, but doesn't exactly give Marinette a chance to answer, instead guessing wildly, "a daycare? A tutoring club? Oh! I know, you're applying at the animal hospital!"

 

His guesses leave her feeling suddenly below expectations—his expectations—and she meekly shakes her head. Suddenly, she feels small, and stammers out, "um, a d-diner."

 

Adrien's face goes blank. Marinette lowers her head in shame. "That's..." he trails off, "so cool, Marinette!" 

 

Marinette raises her head again, glancing at him in surprise. Adrien, bless his cotton socks, doesn't even notice, and starts listing off all the pros of working at a diner. Like, _will she get free meals? Do you think she would see all the secret recipes?_ And then, quietly, _could he visit her at work?_ The last one leaves Marinette breathless, and both of them a little flushed. "I, um," he coughs, breaking eye contact, before shyly glancing at her again, "sorry, that's weird, right?"

 

"No!" Marinette shrieks, waving her arms wildly. Her sudden outburst finally pulls Alya and Nino out of their couple reverie, and both peer at her curiously. She flushes the same color as her Ladybug suit. "That's fine, A-Adrien." 

 

Adrien bites his lower lip, giving her a bashful smile, before reaching up to run his fingers through is hair. "Cool," he says, and Marinette parrots the phrase back. She flushes crimson again, but doesn't catch the pink dusting adorning Adrien's own cheeks. They awkwardly glance at each other a few times, before Nino coughs obnoxiously, finally breaking whatever trance the two had been in. 

 

"Ah, yeah," Adrien says, shooting up from his seat. "I actually have to," he glances at Marinette, and his voice momentarily tails off. "Um," he adds, quickly snapping out of yet another spell, "go home." He collects himself, and then, almost hesitantly, bows at their table. Marinette's brain pushes into _**maximum overdrive**_ , as she watches his retreating figure. _Adrien bowed at us, Adrien bowed at me._

 

"Wow, that's got to be my favorite reenactment of _Titanic_ ," Nino whistles, before Alya jams her pointy elbows into his ribs. He grimaces out, "but I definitely gotta go, too."

 

He leaves, and the girls are left just as how they'd began, this time however, sans mustache. Alya claps and Marinette jumps in her socks. "Good show," she praises, "jolly good show."

 

"Alya," Marinette whines, covering her still flaming cheeks. "What am I going to do?"

 

Alya, seemingly unnerved by her best friend's unraveling, turns to her cell phone, gracing Marinette with an unhelpful shrug of the shoulders. "Girl, how should I know anything to do with guys? I be getting payed, too," she answers, eyes scanning down her phone at a rapid pace. 

 

Marinette's breakdown hits a wall, and she levels Alya with an unimpressed look. "You've been dating the same guy for two years now, sis."

 

Alya sets her phone down, shooting Marinette her own look of unamusement, before ruefully saying, "he gave me a framed portrait of himself for our last anniversary." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic features 17 y/o adrien slowly becoming more aware of marinette


End file.
